


I'll See You On The Other Side

by youbuggme



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Crack, Gen, Ghosts, M/M, Occult, Paranormal, Poltergeists, Reunions, canon dead characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-28 06:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8434597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youbuggme/pseuds/youbuggme
Summary: It only took seconds, years of practice getting her channeling time down to the almost nothing, for Arya to feel her soul lift from her body as a new one came pushing inward. Years of practice also granted her the ability to sneer a warning at the incoming spirit: Make it quick, Ygritte, I have a date waiting for me.
--Or, where the Starks are either dead or have supernatural powers yet Arya is stuck dealing with everyone else's relationship problems, especially those beyond the grave.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had been toying with this idea for months now and decided to just get it over with and post it :) There are four chapters in total and will be posted throughout the next two weeks as I streamline them!
> 
> Happy Halloween! Stay spooky :)

Arya knew, just _knew_ , from the second her phone began buzzing in her pocket that this “date” of hers was as good as done. Even Gendry who didn’t even know how horrible the phone call could actually be seemed to understand that the night had gone downhill as Arya grumbled curses under her breath. The thing was she was _actually_ a little pissed. Gendry and she had been toeing around this idea of dating for weeks, _months_ even, and now that Arya finally decided she wanted to give it a go, this dating thing, she got a call. Of fucking course.

The only good news was that it wasn’t Robb and his “unfinished business” because he was definitely not first date material, no matter _how_ long Gendry had known her. Glancing at her phone, Arya reckoned Jon was hardly better, any of her siblings really.

“I have to take this,” she snarled more at her phone than Gendry who just nodded his head in understanding. “It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”

“It’s fine,” Gendry waved her off. That was probably the best thing about Gendry, dating him or not; he _understood_ how fucked up Arya’s family could be and he didn’t even know why or how. He just understood. “Want me to order something for you?”

They had literally just gotten to the restaurant, the date barely even underway and she was already getting calls. Jon better have a good reason for the interruption.

“A water and a coke, please,” she gave him one more apologetic smile before getting out of her seat and stepping outside for privacy.

Before she could even utter a sound of annoyance, Jon was already speaking, _“I need to speak with Ygritte._ Now. _”_

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Arya groaned. “I’m in the middle of-” Well, she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him it was a date. She might be twenty and living on her own, but Jon still saw her as his little sister too young for anything, especially boys. Especially Gendry. “-of something.”

 _“Arya, I wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t an emergency.”_ Wasn’t that the biggest lie in the book and her call log could back her up. _“I’m trying to get a business contract with Stannis Baratheon and she is causing a mess.”_

“She only does that when she is jealous,” Arya snapped back but she did feel a sliver of sympathy for Jon. She could understand being interrupted from something important.

 _Well, Stannis’ accountant may or may not be saying some suggestive things,”_ Jon admitted with what Arya was sure was a pout. _“Let’s just say it is a good thing she is wearing red. Unfortunately, if things keep going to way they are going, I’m going to run out of red wine_ and _lose this contract.”_

“Can’t you just host a séance and talk to her yourself?” Arya retorted sarcastically. “I know you just got a new shipment of candles. Rickon showed me the receipts last week.”

_“Fuck you. A séance? In the middle of a business dinner? What do you want me to say? ‘Excuse me, Mr. Baratheon, don’t mind the candles, I’m just trying to contact my dead girlfriend. She’s the jealous type, I’m sure you know all about that.’”_

 “Fine,” Arya bit out. “But you only get five minutes and you _owe_ me, Jon.”

 _“Literally, anything you want. Just please get a hold of her so I can tell her to stop.”_ Jon sounded near desperate and it was really the only reason why Arya was bending the knee and doing this. If anyone else had called and asked, she would have told them to sod off. Jon was _lucky_ they were this close.

“We’ll call you back in a minute.”

 _“Arya, you are the best, thank yo-”_ Arya hung up before she could hear the rest of it. She needed to go back inside and buy a few more minutes. Thank gods Gendry was already familiar with these abnormalities although he was also thankfully unaware of the source. He was used to her tendency to disappear for ten to twenty minutes at a time and had learned it was best not to ask why.

“It is no problem,” Gendry reassured as Arya went toward the bathroom. She did notice his confused look but she had other things to worry about at that very moment, particular Jon and his girlfriend.

Once inside the bathroom, Arya locked the door. After doing this too many times over the years, it was always just easier if she had complete privacy. The other bathroom attendees tend to give her funny looks. Heavily setting down her purse on the counter, Arya began digging through it. She was really going to have to thank Sansa for the purse. It wasn’t necessarily her style but it concealed all the random bullshit she had to carry around with her for moments like this.

Pulling out the many plastic Ziploc bags, Arya searched for the one she was looking for, one with an aged arrowhead with a chunk missing from one of the base corners. It looked like a piece of junk, and, frankly, it was, but it was the exact piece of junk she needed. Dumping the other Ziploc bags into her purse (was she seriously already at thirteen bags?), Arya ripped open the Ziploc and grabbed the arrowhead.

It only took seconds, years of practice getting her channeling time down to the almost nothing, for Arya to feel her soul lift from her body as a new one came pushing inward. Years of practice also granted her the ability to sneer a warning at the incoming spirit: _Make it quick, Ygritte, I have a date waiting for me._

She ignored the chuckle that answered as she began counting down the time that she would be granted access back into her body. She was seriously only going to give them five minutes.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Arya was finally able to take her seat in front of Gendry. Trying to wrap up her connection with Ygritte who was still stringing along a thousand: **_Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!_** s. Finally, Arya just had to cut her off and drop the arrowhead back into her purse.

“Long line?” he questioned, but his eyes shined with knowing. Arya realized he had a clear shot of the bathroom and it’s lack of line.

“Long line,” Arya agreed, not willing to explain any further, and, with that, Gendry dropped the subject, already discussing some inane thing Hot Pie and Lommy had done recently.

Arya wished she could drop it too and forget all about the past half hour but she couldn’t. Jon was going to get some serious words later tonight. She understood his soulmate was dead and she understood that Ygritte was waiting in the wastelands for him to die and she _fucking understood_ that she was his only link to Ygritte until he passed, but it was still annoying as hell when her life had to be interrupted so she could solve their trans-astral relationship disputes.

Unfortunately, that was what you get when you’re born into a family with spiritualistic powers and a too strong connection with death.

* * *

It wasn’t as if Arya was the only one out of her family members that was affected or that she was the only one who faced constant interruptions because of her gift. Far from it.

Bran was constantly struggling with visions of both the past and the future and trying to figure out when he was actually in the present. It didn’t help that his entire body fell limp when he went into these visions and it didn’t help that every time he returned, he granted the world with another life-changing discovery. By now, the whole Stark clan was used to it. He’s been dealing with it since he was seven and he woke up from his first vision crying about their father’s death. (Unfortunately, he was exactly correct and Ned Stark died five years later).

Rickon was even debatably worse. Unlike Bran, whose powers came about after he became paralyzed, Rickon had his from the moment he was born. Unfortunately, none of them fucking realized it and just assumed Rickon was the clumsiest person on earth. How was one supposed to rationalize why everything broke the moment Rickon touched it. Even for a supernatural family, telekinesis was never on the forefront of their minds. Now objects flying across the room were normal occurrences in their everyday life.

Just like Rickon, the family hadn’t even realized Sansa had any powers or gifts until she was twelve. Their parents had thought Sansa had been spared of any supernatural gifts and Sansa had been unbelievably happy. All she ever wanted was to be normal and for the longest time, they thought that was true. However, one abusive pre-teen relationship later and it turns out the reason Sansa had been such an emotional and airy child was because _of course,_ she was an empath like mother. It took years of Sansa falling in tune with all their emotions before she finally learned how to make the disconnect and keep her feelings to herself. It didn’t stop her from prying into everyone else’s emotions but at least it wasn’t a constant thing and she had control. None of them were going to forget the time she _accidentally_ (as she claims) transferred an upset Rickon’s crying onto a normally stoic Jon. (Jon was still a little peeved with her about it).

No one was even sure Jon would have any abnormalities or gifts. He was, up until recently, viewed as their half-brother and none of them were sure if his mother had any supernatural tendencies. However, one four hour vision from Bran later, they found out that not only was Jon really their cousin but that his mother, their Aunt Lyanna, was one of most notorious clairvoyants in existence. Apparently, while he had some of his mother’s gift, his abilities were pretty limited and required tools. Hilariously enough, mainly candles, gems, chalk and mirrors. His apartment looked like an occult shop at this point and he hated it venomously. However, his séances and dowsing have proven to be useful enough for him to keep the ridiculous amount of candles.

And then, of course, there was Robb, the oldest up until recently. Robb had been just like father. According to their parents, Robb’s powers came in when he was six months old and had just been put down for a nap when he didn’t want to. One minute their mother was shutting the door to his room and the next she was walking him in his stroller. She was halfway down the street before she realized what had happened. Catelyn alerted Ned immediately with the news. The power of persuasion and telepathy were always admirable qualities among the supernaturally gifted. He was their shining star.

And Arya? Arya had gotten the same gift as her grandfather, channeling the dead, and she had to find out in the worst possibly way, waking up two days after her father’s death to hear him speaking incoherent words in her mind. It scared the living daylights out of her, Arya going to the very logical conclusion that she was simply going insane. She ended up keeping it a secret for weeks, never getting any sleep because, while she thought it was insane, she didn’t want to stop hearing her father’s voice even if the words were lost to her. When her mother finally cornered her to ask what was going on, Arya confessed and her mother hugged her, tears running down her face and a smile pulling at her lips as she breathed, _“You have my father’s gift!”_

It took them two weeks later to realize that Arya needed to be in contact with a possession of the deceased to make the connection and she promptly stopped sleeping with her father’s sweatshirt.

* * *

“Arya,” Sansa grinned brightly at her sister from the kitchen counter, “did you have a _lucky_ night? I didn’t even feel you come home until, what? Four in the morning? You were practically _skipping_!”

Arya glared coldly at her bright and vibrant sister. “Stop prying, Sansa.” This is what she gets for having her empath sister as a roommate in their tiny apartment. At least she didn’t have to share with Jon, Bran and Rickon…between the candles, visions and flying sodas Arya wasn’t sure who she’d get tired of first. Besides, Sansa basically lived at her girlfriend’s most days.

“I can’t help it,” Sansa flipped her hair over her shoulder dramatically. “I’ve never felt you feel so cheery before. I told you going out with Gendry would be a good idea.”

“Yeah,” Arya agreed because she couldn’t hide it from Sansa, not when she had her feelers out. “It’d be better if Ygritte and Jon would stop interrupting. This is the fourth date they’ve interrupted. It is like they know.”

“Jon told me Ygritte was writing notes for him on the window and freaking out Sam and Gilly during their movie night,” Sansa said breezily. “Oh, Margaery stopped by and brought some pastries for breakfast. You’re welcome.”

Arya didn’t even say thank you. Sansa could feel her gratitude and that was enough. Grabbing a cinnamon roll, Arya took up a seat beside her sister. “Ygritte’s just bored. ‘Not much to do when you’re dead and stuck in limbo.”

Sansa smirked. “I think you let Ygritte take over too much.”

“If I don’t, Jon complains and pouts and you _know_ how that feels,” Arya grumbled, taking a large bite.

“It sucks to die young and you are forced to wait for your soulmate.” Arya already knew the direction this conversation was going to take by the way Sansa’s voice drifted off. “Speaking of waiting, how is Robb?”

“Don’t know,” Arya shrugged. “We are meeting up in a few days. Sundays, remember?”

“He hasn’t been pestering you?” Sansa frowned. That was unlike their brother. Usually, he chimed in with his thoughts every day or so, wanted or not. (It was normally very much wanted.)

“He still doesn’t know where Greyjoy could be, let alone if he is actually Robb’s soulmate-”

“They are soulmates,” Sansa said surely.

“Regardless,” Arya cocked her head to the side with a frown, “he’s confused and his memories are all over the place. What do you think? I’m tired of looking for all over the bloody country for the asshat and coming up with nothing because Robb can’t remember shit. You were always better at this emotion stuff.” Pun intended.

“I’m in the same boat as you both. We know _who_ his soulmate is, now we just have to find him,” Sansa sighed longingly. Arya rolled her eyes. If only it was as simple as Sansa said. Finding him was only _one_ step in this long process.  

Arya rubbed the sleep from her face in agitation. “Well, if it is him we can’t actually find out until he dies-”

“ _Arya!_ ” Sansa slapped Arya’s shoulder affronted.

“Well, it’s true!” Arya snapped, rubbing her shoulder. It was true. Those who were stuck in the wastelands were waiting for their soulmate to join them. You only ended up waiting for your soulmate if you met them, though; hence why Ygritte was waiting around for Jon to die. “It doesn’t even really matter anyways, we can’t find him.”

“I know,” Sansa sighed defeated. “I’m kind of hoping that Bran is going to catch a glimpse of him one day instead of us going to every town we can think of and come up with nothing.”

“Let’s just hope it is in the future, not the past,” Arya warned sourly. “Oh, did you hear Rickon’s brilliant plan?”

Judging by Sansa’s smile, she knew. “Don’t you think it is sweet?”

“Or fucking stupid.”

Sansa glared. “He wants to tell his girlfriend the truth!”

“Yeah,” Arya narrowed her eyes, “and you’ve seen how that has turned out for all of us. Bran told Jojen and Jojen had a seizure that nearly killed him.”

“He’s always been prone to seizures and he is fine now,” Sansa countered right back. “Maybe even better than ever.”

“You told Margaery and she ended up in a six-month coma.”

“But we had a happy reunion!” Sansa opposed swiftly.

“Jon told Ygritte and she had a heart attack,” Arya growled, crossing her arms.

“Well, in all fairness, it wasn’t the heart attack that killed her.”

Arya groaned loudly. “That’s not the point. Telling people is just bad luck and someone always gets hurt in the end.”

“Oh,” Sansa smirked. “This isn’t about Rickon and his little girlfriend, is it? This is about you and Gen-”

“ _Stop,_ ” Arya warned sharply.

Sansa didn’t say anything else but Arya didn’t need to be a fucking empath to feel Sansa’s disagreement.

* * *

Arya used the key Jon had given her to slip into his apartment. She was late and she was hoping that she could come in unnoticed but apparently, her siblings decided to wait for her. Great!

“You’re late!” Rickon cooed evilly, Bran smirking beside him. “Mom’s going be pissed.”

“What?” Arya dropped her purse on the table and flung herself onto her seat at the dinner table. “Are you going to tell on me? Like a little kid.”

“I’m an adult!” Rickon yelped like a pup. “I’m thirteen.”

“Uh huh,” Arya rolled her eyes as she surveyed the table.

Fifty thousand candles? Check. Chalk inscriptions? Check. Crystal gems? Check. Spirit guide? Che-

_Wait._

“Where’s Jon?” Arya looked around. Rickon, Bran and Sansa were all seated at the table, so where the hell was Jon.

“In his room,” Sansa nodded in the general direction. “He’s still preparing the table. He almost forgot the pictures.”

“Yet it is still my fault that I’m late?” Arya sneered at Rickon specifically. “Are you going to tell _them_ what you did?”

“I didn’t do it,” Rickon crossed his arms defensively.

“Yet,” Bran corrected cheekily. “He’s waiting for the right moment to make it _romantic_.”

“Am not!” Rickon stuck his tongue out at Bran. “Just people are always around and I can’t show her with them there.”

“I think it is sweet,” Sansa cooed, reaching over the table to pinch their youngest brother’s cheeks.

Rickon swatted her hands away as Jon entered the room, with a couple of picture frames in his hands.

“Just mom and dad, right?” Jon asked them all, nodding a silent hello to Arya.

“You only set the table for two,” Bran grumbled. “Next time, set it for three and see if we can have Uncle Brandon come too.”

Jon ignored him as he begun to place the two picture frames in front of the two empty chairs. One was of their mother from their last Christmas and the other was of their father from his last birthday. Once the pictures were in place, Jon took his place at the head of the table, rolling his eyes the whole way. He may have a gift for preforming séances, but usually séances required a dramatic flair that Jon refused to give. He did have the all black thing down though, so you know, progress.

They had done this song and dance enough times that they didn’t need to speak through the steps anymore. Like clockwork, they all joined hands and fell silent. Jon closed his eyes and took a deep breath, moving his lips in a silent chant. He adamantly refused to ever say them aloud, claiming they sounded absolutely ridiculous. Arya and Bran once stole his séance book and tried reading them. Needless to say, it was probably for the best Jon did this part silently or else Bran and Arya would burst out into laughter every time and the atmosphere would be ruined.

The candles began to flicker and the room dimmed as two figures materialized in the two chairs they had set. The siblings didn’t release their hands as they waited for Catelyn Stark’s red hair to appear and Ned Stark’s sharp eyes to fully form.

“Hi mom!” Rickon greeted instantly, using the hand adjourned with Bran to wave excitedly.

Their mother chuckled, her voice disjointed and distant. Probably a bad connection. Jon was rushed after all.

 _You all look well,”_ Ned’s disembodied voice came through shakily, dipping in and out of clarity.

 _“I hope you are all eating well,”_ Catelyn gave them all appraising looks before smiling. _“Well, tell us about your week.”_

And they were off. Or more specifically, Rickon was. None of the siblings commented on the fact that he left out Shireen in his recollection of the week and none of them called him out on it. Bran went next, telling them the schools he had been accepted into for university and explaining how Jojen offered him a place to stay once the school year begun. Again, none of the siblings ratted him out for basically already living at Jojen’s. Sansa talked in length about work and Margaery while Jon was brief with the details of his week although he did get a grunt of approval from Ned for his successful business deal coming to a close with Stannis Baratheon. Arya was more interrogated about her week, but she was never really quick to offer up the details. She wasn’t sure she wanted her parents knowing about her and Gendry just yet; although she was sure they had their suspicions.

 _“And how is Robb?”_ Catelyn asked with eyes on Arya. _“Is he coming today?”_

“He can’t make it,” Arya shrugged. “But he’s good.”

Catelyn and Ned shared a sad smile but moved on quickly to hear about what they had missed since their last séance.

* * *

Arya’s alarm woke her up at five o’clock Sunday morning. Usually, she slept until ten or eleven (if she could manage it) any other day of the week. However, Sundays were always the same.

She had a set schedule on Sundays. Get up a five o’clock and take a quick shower after her morning run. She always made sure to change into her comfiest and loosest clothing, tying her hair back so none of it hung in her face or tickled the back of her neck. She always made two Eggo waffles with a slab of peanut butter on top of each. Once they were ready with a glass of milk accompanying them, Arya locked her doors, drew all the windows shut and lit a few of the candles Jon left in her apartment. The last thing Arya did was send a quick text message to the rest of her family to notify them, as she did every Sunday. The only other thing she needed was the tiny sword and shield charm that hung on her key ring.

Sitting down at the table before the breakfast, Arya gripped the key ring. Unlike when she channeled Ygritte or other waiting or lost spirits, Robb was always courteous enough to _share_ her body.

**_Hello, Arya!…where is Sansa?_ **

Even if it wasn’t physically said, she could still feel the warmth behind the words. “Hi, Robb, Sansa was over at Margaery’s last night so who knows if and when she’ll show up today. I made your favorite. _Again_ ,” she huffed as if it were a strain to do so but she willingly made this ridiculous breakfast for Robb every Sunday.

She could sense his smile and his following chuckle. **_This is why you are my favorite. Don’t tell the others!_**

It was Arya’s turn to laugh. “I’m only your favorite because you talk to me the most.”

**_The gods must have known then. But really, tell Jon to invest in some non-fragrant candles. I love being able to see him and all but those candles he has makes everything hazy for me._ **

“Ygritte likes those better, though,” Arya smirked.

 ** _Oh, I see how it is. Got to appease the soulmate and not his own blood. Screw Jon_ and _Ygritte then._** He was completely joking. Arya could feel the love for both of them in Robb’s message.

Out of all her siblings, Robb had always been able to make this gift Arya hated with every fiber of her being not that bad. Sure, she and Jon could both relate to having a gift they hated and she and Bran could muse over the struggles over it taking over their lives at inconvenient moments, but Robb somehow made it okay. She still hated it, but using it to talk to her dead brother made it slightly better.

“Ready to hear what ridiculous thing Jon and Ygritte are up to? Oh! Or do you want to hear about Rickon’s brilliant plan of how he is going to tell Shireen Baratheon he is telekinetic.”

 ** _My, my, didn’t you all have a busy week? All I did was wait in limbo lost and confused._** The remark was sarcastic but Arya knew his words were also the truth.

“Honestly,” Arya took a bit of the peanut butter waffle and could feel Robb’s appreciation coursing through her, “that’s not even the half of it. I think Bran had unofficially moved into Jojen Reed’s apartment too. Hold on tight, it’s a bumpy ride.”

**_Oh, you know I can’t wait!_ **


	2. Chapter 2

“Bran!” Arya knocked loudly on the apartment door, not even stopping to question if she was knocking on the right door (give her a break, she’d only been to Jojen’s apartment twice in her life and it’s not exactly high on her priority list). “Open up!” There was a breeze of silence and Arya banged her forehead against the door loudly. “I see Jojen’s car out front. You can’t hide from me!” Another pause and Arya used the ace up her sleeve with a devious grin. “Don’t make me get _Robb_!”

Just like that, the door was unlocked and Jojen appeared wide-eyed, hands still wet and wiping them on his pants. “Please don’t get Robb. I cannot stress to you enough how creepy it is to have him yell at us from beyond the grave.”

“You mean mother hen from beyond the grave,” Arya muttered before asking boldly, bouncing on her heels impatiently, “Where is Bran?”

“Kitchen!” Bran yelled from within and Arya pushed Jojen aside forcefully.

Bran was in the kitchen, sitting on the counter with his back resting against the cabinets. In his lap was a bowl of vanilla cake mix. Arya raised an eyebrow in question. It wasn’t even noon.

“Meera’s birthday,” Jojen answered briefly, coming to lean beside Bran. “It’s this weekend.”

“Right,” Arya waved off while mentally making a note to get the girl something. “I need you to come with me today.”

“Why me?” Bran cocked his head to the side.

“Because, Jon came with last week, Rickon the week before and Sansa before that. It’s your turn,” she deadpanned. “It’s the _Robb Stark Soulmate Hunt: Part 94_.”

“It isn’t really part 94,” Jojen frowned and then paused. “Oh shit, is it?”

“No, but it might as well be,” Bran smirked before turning to his sister. “Where are we going today?”

“Some dippy town two hours away,” Arya crossed her arms. “The town is called Oxcross or something. I don’t know. I found it online, though, so this one does actually exist. Gendry’s letting me borrow his truck while he’s working on my car today.”

“That far in the budding romance for him to be fixing up your car for free?” Jojen teased but was already grabbing jackets from the coat closet. “And he’s letting you steal his truck to look for your dead brother’s ex?”

“He doesn’t know what it’s for,” Arya muttered and Jojen and Bran laughed.

“Gotta tell him one day,” Bran set the cake mix aside and carefully lowered himself into his wheelchair. Jojen put the mix in the refrigerator, tossing Bran his jacket in the same motion.

“Right, ‘Hey Gendry, I know we’ve been dating for a while and all but remember that time my brother died and you comforted me for like months? Well, joke’s on you, I was talking to him the whole time! Actually, I talk to him once a week? Want to talk to him too? Don’t worry, it’s easy! He just takes over my body and talks through me,’” Arya mimicked annoyed and dramatically, channeling her inner Sansa for the performance. They weren’t even connected but Arya could _feel_ Robb’s disapproval.

Bran rolled his eyes and Jojen bit back a chuckle. “I wouldn’t recommend that,” Bran suggested cheekily as he made his way toward the front door.

Bran was in mid-roll when he suddenly stopped and his whole body slumped forward in the chair and his arms dropping to his sides. Thankfully, Jojen was right there to ease him back but both Jojen and Arya knew what was happening as they saw Bran’s eyes roll back showing only the whites.

“I hope he doesn’t take too long,” Arya grumbled impatiently, slumping down to the ground by Bran’s chair, tapping her foot against the front wheel. Really, the only thing you could do when Bran’s visions came was to sit and wait and make sure nothing happened to him. Sometimes he convulsed but apparently that was “all a part of the process”. The visions could range from a few minutes to, one time, a whole day. Really, it was the luck of the draw when it came to the length and intensity of the vision and Bran had almost no control over it.

However, twenty minutes passed and Bran’s eyes came forward as he sucked in a deep breath. His chest was still heaving as he looked around the room trying to get his bearings straight. Arya didn’t envy him and that lost look. She might get sick after coming and going from her body, but that feeling of being lost and confused would drive her insane, more insane than sharing a body with another spirit. At least, Robb and Ygritte tried to be considerate when they body-shared.

“Past or future?” Jojen asked quickly, hand on Bran’s shoulder comfortingly, grounding.

Bran put his hand over Jojen’s. “Future,” he smiled slightly before looking at Arya. “You should have dinner with Gendry tonight. Take him out. Court him properly.”

Jojen snorted at this as Arya narrowed her eyes. “He works late tonight.”

“I know,” Bran smiled knowingly, even though he looked exhausted from his jolt in time. “Trust me. Dinner in Moat Cailin. I think there is a Chinese place that you’ll like.”

Arya raised both eyebrows. “You want me to take Gendry to Moat Cailin? A two-hour drive away for possibly decent Chinese.”

All Bran did was tap his temple as if that was enough of an explanation. Arya couldn’t argue with that when they were running late for their current mission to Oxcross and Bran didn’t seem privy to giving any more clarity. He could be just as stubborn as the rest of them if he wanted to.

“Whatever, are you ready yet?” Arya tapped her foot impatiently.

“Who are we going to see again?” Bran asked, grabbing his phone and keys and rolling his shoulders to stretch. He always got stiff from his visions.

Arya’s face wrinkled in disgust. “Remember Talisa?”

His loud groan of annoyance was answer enough.

* * *

“Really,” Arya insisted from the passenger’s seat, “thank you for letting me borrow your car this afternoon.”

Gendry grinned dopily. “Honestly, it is fine. I couldn’t let you drive yours the way it was. You find what you were looking for?”

_Talisa? Yes. Answers? Fuckin’ no. Trust Robb’s ex to know nothing about who Arya was_ actually _looking for. Even Jeyne Westerling and Roslin Frey had better insight concerning Theon fucking Greyjoy._

Even without the connection to the sword and shield charm, Arya could still feel the apologetic wave. Maybe it was because they were related or maybe it was because Robb had been a gifted telepath or maybe it was just because Arya and he synced up so much, but sometimes there didn’t need to be an official connection for them to exchange thoughts and brief waves of emotion. She had already spoken to Robb earlier and had heard his rambling apologies but apparently he wasn’t done.

“Kind of,” Arya shrugged, glancing at the window to see the small lights of the next approaching town. “Have you been to Moat Cailin before?”

“No,” Gendry admitted. “Any particular reason we are having dinner all the way over there?”

See, this was the exact reason Arya lied to Gendry. Telling him that her precognition brother had a vision and basically insisted that she went there would have been a loaded gun of a statement. Lying was so much easier.

“Bran and Jojen recommended it,” Arya shrugged. Lying and half-truths, really. “Says they have a pretty nice authentic Chinese place.”

Gendry hummed although Arya could read the line of confusion running on his forehead. “Two hours of Chinese?”

“Consider it an adventure,” Arya smirked. “Or is it only an adventure if Hot Pie tags along.”

“Sure, but it wouldn’t be much of a date then, would it?” Gendry shot back with a sheepish grin. “I mean, let’s call it what it is.”

“Just not in front of Jon,” Arya warned but her smile was still stitched in place. Robb had just gotten over it and Sansa had finally stopped cooing about it. She was going to have her week of peace before she broke the news to Jon and Rickon. Then they’d have to tell their parents which would be a joy.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that conversation,” Gendry chuckled lightly. “Scares the shit out of me.”

“Robb is- Robb _was_ worse,” Arya blushed catching herself on the tenses. Robb’s comforting vibe wasn’t helping either.

Gendry fell silent, always the case when Robb or her parents were brought up. Kind of the way things went when people saw death in such an absolute way. It wasn’t Gendry’s fault; he just didn’t know that death wasn’t as finite as he was taught to believe. Maybe one day, if Arya ever told Gendry about all of the paranormal stuff, he’d feel differently about it.

Arya was about to change the subject, head for lighter, more enjoyable topics of discussion when a pair of blinking taillights on the side of the road came into view.

“Blown tire?” Arya mused as they grew closer but felt Gendry decelerate the truck. She sent him a teasing grin. “Can’t stop your inner mechanic from shining through, huh?”

“Shut up,” Gendry shot back, his own lips quirking up.

“Come on,” Arya leaned over the center console, “it’s like your superpower. A lame one, admittedly, but can you picture it? The tights, the cape, an actual utility belt of wrenches and tire irons.”

“It’ll only take a second,” Gendry pulled up behind the car, a figure blinded by the light had their hood pulled up and a hand blocking the headlight’s beams. “Worst case scenario, we call a tow company and are on our way in ten minutes. Deal?”

“Yeah,” Arya nodded along, slouching in her seat as Gendry unbuckled himself and opened the door. He was about to slip out but leaned over and kissed Arya on the cheek. She swatted him away fighting the burning blush on her face. Goddamnit, she could practically hear Robb cackling. Thank Gods Robb and Sansa weren’t telepathically connected.

Arya watched as Gendry approached the figure. They talked for a moment and then headed toward the front tire. As Arya had guess, it was flat. Perks of being an auto mechanic’s girlfriend? Or perks of being synced up with a telepath? Arya would prefer it to just be good intuition.

She watched as Gendry inspected the tire before standing up and coming to her door. Arya rolled down the window.

“I’m going to patch his tire up and fill it. He’s heading to Winterfell anyway so he’s just going to drop it off at my place for the time being. Give me a few minutes and we’ll be on our way.”

Arya nodded her head and watched Gendry disappear to his truck to pull out the necessary supplies. She then turned her eyes toward the stranger with the blown tire.

He was horribly thin but Arya couldn’t see much with his hood up. She wasn’t even particularly interested, just trying to think _why_ Bran wanted her in Moat Cailin of all places. She was still trying to figure out. Maybe there were answers at this mysterious Chinese place?

She was so lost in her thoughts, trying to sort out Bran’s secrecy that she barely heard Robb’s attempt at a connection until his voice broke through her thoughts, snagging onto the weak connection from the keys in her pocket.

**_Theon?_ **

Arya snapped her eyes wide open and turning to look at the stranger in the hood. She shoved her hand into her pocket to grip the key ring and heard Robb repeat the name again. Honestly, she couldn’t see it. The guy’s face was obscured and he was huddled up in a thick jacket _and_ not to mention it was dark and the headlights of Gendry’s truck weren’t really doing any one any favors.

However, Robb seemed 100% certain.

**_Arya, that’s him! Arya, it is Theon! Arya!_** She could feel the bubbling excitement as he continued. If he had an actual voice, it would be breathless. **_I know it’s him. Arya, come on! Arya!_**

“Robb, you can’t even see his fac-”

**_It’s him!_ **

Signing, Arya rubbed her face and squinted her eyes, trying to see if it was in fact her deceased brother’s long lost friend or whatever the hell they were. She barely even remembered Theon Greyjoy, well, without the assistance of Robb. She had been seventeen the last time she saw him and she had never been that _invested_ enough to commit his entire being and mannerisms to memory. Unlike _some_ dead people.

**_Go outside and I’ll prove it._ **

“Robb, I’m not-”

**_Go. Outside. It’s him, Arya! Come on!_ **

Growling, Arya flung open the truck door and stomped out. _I hope you are happy, fuckface,_ Arya thought back at her brother spitefully. He didn’t respond but she could sure as hell feel his confidence and nervous mixed together in one tidal wave of emotion.

Walking around the pulled over car, Arya could see Gendry and the _supposedly_ Theon-figure, kneeling by the tire as Gendry had the compressor humming. He must have heard it because Gendry looked up, guilt painting his features.

“Sorry, we’re almost done here,” he said, spurring the Theon-figure to look up and-

_Holy shit._

_**I told you so.** _

Judging by the mortified look on Theon _fucking_ Greyjoy’s face, he wasn’t expecting Arya to be standing there. Poor Gendry looked between the two uncertain and worried.

“Arya?” Theon stood up and it was slowly coming back to Arya. The lanky, tall idiot always laughing with Robb and smiling even when he was alone. Always fucking smiling.

**_He’s not smiling now,_** Robb reminded, his voice fuzzy despite their strong connection. His voice felt more distant than usual. Unsure.

“Long time, no see,” Arya crossed her arms firmly as she stared Theon down. Robb might have been thrumming with excitement about it potentially being Theon and Arya was excited for her brother. But that didn’t change her feelings about Theon.

Theon looked like he had been slapped and ducked his head. _Good_ , Arya thought even though Robb was running through a string of weak reprimands. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you like this.”

“Or at all,” Arya hissed. “It’s been four fucking years.”

Gendry was blinking in confusion, turning off the compressor and standing up. He shifted from foot to foot, unsure what to do. Arya, feeling the conflicting emotions of Robb’s happiness, worry _and_ unease spoke up again, this time directed at Gendry. “Gendry, this is Robb’s best friend. The one who skipped town after he died and skipped his fucking funeral.” Arya let go of the key ring temporarily as she spoke, breaking her connection with Robb. “Oh, they might have been dating. It was kind of unclear with Robb dead and all.”

At least Theon had the decency to look guilty. Arya continued to glare but Gendry just picked up the compressor. “I’ll let you two talk.”

Gendry left quickly, silence deafening both of them as Theon continually avoided eye contact. Arya reluctantly rejoined her connection with Robb who immediately sent her disapproval at the highest volume. Whatever, she got out what she had wanted to say for years. Robb was lucky Arya had stopped where she had. Jon would have been fifty times worse to Theon.

“I was coming back,” Theon finally spoke, his voice low and rough. Robb’s reprimanding messages fell silent at his words.

“When?” Arya snapped.

Theon looked up, a ghost of the smile he used to wear around her house touching his lips. “Like, now.” He nodded his head to the car as proof.

“You’re facing the wrong way,” Arya cocked an eyebrow.

Theon nodded his head. “I started to second-guess myself. ‘Was going to turn around and skip town again. ‘Guess the gods were telling me different.”

Oh shit, if that didn’t just _sing_ to the supernatural romantic in Robb. Arya was practically going to be sick with the flood of emotions. Really, Sansa was much better equipped for _all_ of this.

“Why now?” Arya growled. “Why not just never come back?”

**_Arya!_** Robb yelped. Hey, she may have been looking for Theon for four years because Robb asked her to, but she was not about to let him off the hook for being even more of an asshole than usual.

Theon frowned, his eyes revealing that he really didn’t have an answer to that question and gave a helpless shrug. “I don’t know why I’m even coming back.”

“Then how about why you left?” Arya countered swiftly. This time she met no opposition from Robb. He wanted to know to. Had wanted to know since Theon disappeared without a trace the evening before Robb’s funeral.

Theon look at Arya, hints of helplessness shining into his eyes. “What did I have left?”

Arya sighed, shaking off the feelings Robb was sending forth, stronger than ever. He always was more expressive when Theon was in the mix and now that he was here before them, Arya was actually feeling the staggering pressure of it. Bodies were only meant for one soul, one set of emotions and one set of thoughts. Body-sharing worked fine when Arya and Robb were both willing to tone it back but Robb was coming in at full-force, whether he actually realized that or not.

“Well, your back now,” Arya swallowed roughly, “kind of.” She gestured to the _‘Welcome to Winterfell’_ sign not even half a mile down the road.

Again, that ghost of a smile came to Theon’s lips as he signed. “Yeah…kind of.”

Both were at a loss of what to say next, but Robb was always the ever helpful ghost. **_Ask him to breakfast tomorrow._**

Before Arya even registered Robb’s request, she blurted out a time and location. Stunned and livid, Arya turned her angry thoughts towards Robb. _Don’t fucking do that. I can ask without your assistance! Don’t use your voodoo magic from beyond the grave, asshole,_ Arya thought hissingly at her brother.

**_It’s not voodoo magic, Arya. It’s-_ **

“Sure,” Theon said a few minutes later, effectively stopping Robb from continuing and pulling Arya back from further arguing to her brother. “That would be…nice.”

“Mind if I invite the whole clan?” Arya asked. She was going to anyway, but it was nice to give Theon the choice and notice. If Robb and Theon thought Arya had been harsh, wait until Rickon got into the mix. After Robb, Rickon had taken Theon’s disappearance the hardest.

Theon raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t think I got a choice in that.”

“You don’t,” Arya shrugged. She uncrossed her arms and walked past Theon, stopping right next to him. “It’s good to see you,” Arya tried to convey without cluing in the fact that Robb was practically over himself in joy. Arya swore her brother was dancing from beyond the grave.

Theon nodded his head slowly. “You too.”

Arya didn’t look back as she climbed into Gendry’s truck. She also wasn’t the one to break the connection with Robb. He did that all by himself and Arya has half sure that Robb was going to follow Theon home instead.

Gendry didn’t say a word until Arya had the door shut and was buckled in.

“So…that was unexpected?”

Arya wondered how much she could get away with saying to Gendry without having to explain all the paranormal mumbo-jumbo. “I’m just as surprised as you are.”

“Did everything go okay?” he asked hesitantly, beginning to pull out once Gendry saw Theon start the car and drive off, turning around to drive in the correct direction towards Winterfell.

“We are getting breakfast tomorrow morning,” Arya admitted. “I’m sure he’s got a lot of explaining to do.”

“And he and your brother used to…” Gendry let the sentence die but his curiosity was evident.

Arya shrugged. “I was never really sure. They were best friends before I was even born but near the end things changed. I know Robb had feelings but I could never get a good read on Theon. He faked a lot in front of everyone who wasn’t Robb.” And apparently in front of Robb since Robb was even unsure of what he and Theon were.

“Even if they weren’t anything romantic, it probably wrecked him when your brother died. If they were that close.”

Arya gave half a snort of laughter. “Honestly? They were probably even closer. They were inseparable.” Arya sighed deeply before turning to look at Gendry. “You still want to drive out to Moat Cailin?” Arya didn’t really need to go there after seeing Theon and knowing that’s what had been the basis for Bran’s vision. No wonder he had tried getting out of seeing Talisa all day. Arya wished she had listened.

Gendry smirked as he glanced over at her. “Oh, I was promised Chinese. You better not hold out on me now, Stark. We’re already half way there. Are you a quitter?”

“Shut up and drive, Waters,” Arya grinned back. She was just settling into the seat of the truck when her phone vibrated with an incoming text. Checking it, Arya could see one message from Bran. She rolled her eyes at her brother’s impatience.

_So, did it go well with Theon?_

Arya shook her head in amusement and tucked away her phone. Bran had the vision, he must have seen some of the conversation, he’d know enough. Besides, it was Arya’s date night. She’d let Bran squirm on the subject for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! :) [Tumblr](http://youbuggingme.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! 
> 
>  
> 
> [Tumblr](http://youbuggingme.tumblr.com/)


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